Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms



'G. M. SPENCER. BREEGHY LOAfiING FIREARM.

No. 34,319 Patented Feb. 4, 1862.

the hammer is also fast, the said UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH -LOADING FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,3 l9. dated February4, 1562.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER M. SPEN- OER,of South Manchester, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Breech-LoadingFire-Arms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a side view, partly in section, of the breech, part of thebarrel, the lock, the stock-frame, and the breech-operating mechanism ofa rifle with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same, partlyin section, showing the breech in the position which it occupies whenthe hammer is cocked. Fig. 3 is a top view, showing the breech incondition for loading. Figs. 4 and 5 are horizontal sectionsot' parts ofthe lock and breechoperating mechanism in different conditions.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention consists in a novel mode of combining the breech-loadingfirearm with and operating the same by means of the hammer; also, in acertain mode of combining the breech with the lock.

To enable others skilled in theart to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the frame, of steel or malleable iron, serving to contain the lock,to carry the barrel B and movable breech C, and to attach the whole tothe stock. This frame has provided on its front part a socket, 1), intowhich the barrel B is screwed tightly, and behind this socket and belowthe bore of the barrel the top face, a a, of the said frame is made Hatand parallel with the bore for the reception of the breech C, whichworks on the topof the said frame.

The breech C consists of a plate furnished at its front end with agas-choke, 0, of any suitable construction, to enter into and close therear of the barrel; and it has in its rear portion a circular opening tofit an eccentric, D, that is fast upon the pin E, which constitutes thepivot of the hammer F, and to which pin being arranged in an uprightposition perpendicular to the bore of the barrel, and fitted to turn ina bearing provided for it in the frame A.

springs I I act to produce the The breech, so applied, is capable ofswinging in a direction lateral to the stock andbarrel of the gun, toopen the bore at the rear for the reception of the charges, and to closeit again alter the insertion thereof, the said swinging movement beingproduced by the turning of the hammer-pin E and eccentric D, the breechbeing attached to the eccentric by means ot'a screw, d, screwing throughthe back of the breech and entering a groove, 0 r, in the periphery ofthe eccentric. This groove 6 r is long enough to allow the pin E andeccentric a suflicient amount of movement independently of the breech topermit the action of the hammer, and to produce the necessary forwardand backward movement of the breech to place the gaschoke 0 within andwithdraw it from the barrel. The extent of the swinging movement of thebreech'itselt' is regulated by a pin.f, screwed or otherwise insertedthrough and secured in it, and entering a groove, 9 h i, in the top ofthe frame A. The part 9 h of this groove is of the form of an aredescribed from the axis of the pin E, and the part It i has a forwarddirection, the points 9 and h serving as stops to the pin f, and socontrolling the extent of swinging movement of the breech, and the parth i permitting the forward movement.

On the lowest part of the pin E is formed or secured the tumbler G,which is of cylindrical form, and has provided in it a square notch, j.for the reception of the front of the trigger H, which is of usualconstruction and applied in the usual manner. Above the tumbler the saidpin E is made offlat form, (best illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5,) and uponthis flattened portion of the said pin the main, blow of the hammer andto assist in operating the breech, as will be presentlydeseribed. Thesesprings, two in number, are applied, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, to presson opposite sides ofthe flattened portion 7c of the pin E. Thearrangement of'this portion it relatively to the hammer is such thatwhen the hammer is upon the nipple the springs press directly againstthe flat sides. as shown in Fig. 5, and exert no tendency to turn thepinfbut as the hammer is drawn back the corners of the said portion Itare brought against the springs, as shown in Fig. 4, which representsthe position of the pin when the hammer is cooked and the springs arecaused tobe strained, and their pressure upon the corners then tends tothrow the hammer upon the nipple. Both springs have the same action,andhence-asingle spring of great strength may be used; but I prefer to usethe two.

The operations of loading and discharging "are as follows: To open thebreech, the hammer is drawn back, as in cockingit, anda finger ispressed against the trigger to draw it back sutficiently to allowthecock-notch j to pass it and the trigger to be drawn back beyond thecocked position. During the first part of this movement the eccentric D,which always moves with the hammer by reason of both being fast upon thepin E, draws the breech back-aiittle way, as shown in Fig. 2, whichrepresents the position of the parts when the hammer-is cocked, and thecontinued drawing back of the hammer continues, drawing back the breechuntil the gas-choke c is entirely withdrawn from the barrel and thebreech is free to swing aside, when the arrival of tlie end r of thegroove in the eccentrio in contact with the screw (Z causes the breechto move with the hammer and to be swung aside by .the continued drawingback thereof. In the above movement the pin E makes considerably morethan a quarter of a revolution, and the flattened portion lc passestheposition in which it stands directly across between the mainsprings.just as the breech is drawnback far enough to clear the barrel, andafter it has passed this position the springs act upon itto turn the pinin the opposite direction to that in which they previonsl y tended toturn it; and hence as soon as the hammer has been drawn back to theposition just above mentioned the breech will be thrown aside to theposition shown in Fig. 3 by the action of the mainsprings. 'When thebreech has thus been moved aside far enough to afford proper facilityfor the insertion of the charge at the rear of the barrel, it is stoppedby the pinf coming in contact with the end 7 of the slot in the frame A.To close the breech, the hammer F is now pushed forward toward thenipple, and the breech is caused to move with it by'the friction betweenthe point of the screw (1 and the bottom of the groove e 0',

which is rather full toward the end 1*,- but when the pin f arrives in'contact with the point h of the groove in the frame A the breech isstopped in its swinging movement,

with its gas-choke. directly opposite the barrel, and the continuedmovement of the hammer in the same direction causes the eccentric tomove the breechforward, the springs; I 1 commencing to assist suchmovement after the flat'p'ortion' la of the pin E verse position. Inthis movement the hammer is stopped on the arrival of the .notch jopposite the trigger by the latter slipping into the said notch, and socockingthe hammer. ()n pulling the trigger to fire, themo'vemcnt of thehammer to strike the priming is accompanied by a slight further forwardmovement of the breech produced by the movement of the eccentric.

I p refer to use, in connection with this mode of applying and operatingthe breech, an expanding gas-choke or ring attached to the breech andentering the barrel, or vice versa.

Having thus described my invention, I will proceed to state what I claimas new- 1. In combination with the breech G and eccentric D, applied asdescribed, the hammer F, secured to the eccentric for the purpose ofenabling the breech to be operated by i the movements'ot' the hammer,substantially as herein specified.

2. In combination with the hammer F, eccentric D, and breech O, the mainspring or Springs 1 I, so applied in relation with a hattened portion,la, of the hammer-pin that the said spring or springs serve not only topro duce the blow of the hammer, but to assist in operating the breech,as herein set forth.

3. The cylindrical tumbler G, so applied on an upright axis and incombination with the hammer and trigger as to allow the cocknotch j topass beyond the trigger and the hammer to be thrown back for theoperation of the breech beyond the position in which it is cooked,substantially as herein specified.

O. M. SPENCER.

Witnesses:

D. W. C. PERRY, A. O SPENCER.

passes the transr

